Chapter Forty-Five

Two and a half weeks later: Community of ??ran?, November 28th, Thanksgiving, 4:15 p.m.

Half-clothed and panting, Marissarocked her hips steadily back and forth on top of Dev's lap, her legs straddling his muscled thighs, the two of them pressed together in the large, brown leather easy chair in their living room. She hadn't been able to stop herself; as soon as they'd left the party, Marissa had started messing around with Dev, touching and kissing him, and by the time they'd reached home, they'd been too excited to make it upstairs.

They'd just returned from Thanksgiving at the Bruns' house, surrounded by friends and family, which Marissa had really needed. With the holidays fast approaching, she was feeling a little bereft of family. This would be her first Christmas without her mom, plus Natalie still wasn't in her life—there was just too much wreckage on the road between the sisters for Marissa to have figured a way around it, yet—and on top of that, Dev was estranged from his mother.

But this afternoon's get-together had confirmed that she did have family. Toni was now Marissa's…well, her something-or-other, now that Toni's brother, Alex, was married to Marissa's sister-in-law, Luvera. How many dates had those two lovebirds gone on after Luvera had spent a weekend in jail for fraternizing with a male Varcolac? All of three? Alex now sported a beautiful blue-and-red dragon tattoo on his back, with an eye, the enchantment designator of a Soothsayer, sitting just off his dragon's nose.

Jacken's brother, Nyko, had also been at Thanksgiving. But not Shon. In a shocking decision, the court had temporarily banished the youngest Brun from the community as punishment for his crimes, sending him to live topside in Toni's former house, now equipped with metal shutters. Shon would work night shifts stocking shelves at a grocery store and go to twice-weekly therapy sessions with Karrell, the community therapist: a Varcolac married to a regular who'd been living topside for some years now.

In other drama, Homicidal Maniac Josnic still hovered as a threat, but the Topside Om R?u had been thwarted in their plans to breach the community. As it turned out, Candace hadn't given up any information about their entrances, despite what she must've gone through. A plaque to honor her sacrifice had been mounted in the grand entrance hall of the mansion. No Traveler went topside without a guard these days, but since most of the business they conducted had to be done during the daytime, a warrior escort wasn't a long-term solution.

Kimberly was still working topside, even though she was now a known associate of the Varcolac. She'd moved to a different office and had hired a full-time bodyguard. And, no, a human male was no match for a demon Om R?u, but a guard would provide an extra set of eyes and a cell phone to call for help, and, anyway, it would just have to do. Sedge wasn't about to allow anyone to stop his wife from doing the work she absolutely adored.

As for Marissa? She wasn't going anywhere for awhile. She wouldn't even think of asking Dev to let her out of his sights after the debilitating scare he'd had, and, frankly, that was no skin off her nose. She was ready to settle down and be at peace, done chasing after some remodeled version of Marissa. If she truly believed in herself, well, then, she'd better get going with that. She wasn't na?ve enough to ignore the reality that she'd still struggle with self-doubt on occasion, but right now she was happy and satisfied.

Being constantly surrounded by people who loved her really helped.

Ah, yes, Marissa's best gal pals had been at the Brun party, too. Toni-Marissa-Beth were the Three Musketeers these days, Kimberly was the Fourth when she was around, plus Hadley was a regular buddy. All four women had been at the party, having a hoot together. Beth had her new baby with her, a boy named Garez who'd been born during the full shutdown without a hitch. The baby's father, Arc, hadn't been present, though, or Thomal.

The Costache brothers had gone topside on a routine mission to investigate another Topside Om R?u kidnapping, and they hadn't made it back in time for the Thanksgiving feast. No incoming messages suggested why they were late, but no one was too worried about it. The community's communication system was still a little glitchy since the shutdown, and the two warriors still had several hours until sunrise.

So now, with worries behind them and the day's festivities over, Marissa and her ultra-hot hubby were topping things off with some great, calorie-burning sex.

Groaning, Marissa pumped up and down on top of Dev faster. He was so big inside her, so hot and impossibly solid.

Dev buried his fangs into her throat erotically deep, and she moaned louder against the hard, hungry draw of his mouth. He surged his hips upward, the friction of his long, thick member building an inferno of desire low in her belly. Her spine melted as the first pleasurable flood of Dev's Fiin?? turned into a deluge of ecstasy. Her head swirled, and the living room sparkled brilliantly around her, every color glowing. A strained plea for more broke from her lips, and she drove her hips up and down frantically on Dev's—

He grabbed her waist and stopped her, yanking his fangs out of her throat. "Hey, hey, hey," he protested breathlessly. "Doc says we gotta be careful of your cervix while you're pregnant, Riss." With his hands on her hips, he slid her off his erection.

"Wait," she panted. "I'll be careful. Don't stop."

He tipped her carefully down onto the carpet.

"No, Dev, come on…"

"Simmer down now." He landed on his hands and knees over her, looking vaguely like the Human Torch from The Fantastic Four, his shoulders and chest stained with streaks of red that were, apparently, the result of some practical joke he refused to tell her about.

"Honey…" She lifted her pelvis to him. "Please."

He set a hand on her belly and gently pressed her back down. "I'm going to take care of you, sweetheart, don't worry." He bent his head and brushed his lips across her stomach. He dipped his tongue into her navel, then rained a path of soft kisses toward her springy triangle of curls.

She squirmed restlessly, missing his fullness inside her. She twined a fist into his hair. "Come back here."

"Don't think so," he murmured. "Your little honey pot's so good right after I've fed." He pushed her thighs apart and sank down between them, inhaling deeply. "So wet," he moaned, then covered the entire slit of her sex with his open mouth.

She cried out and shuddered, her hand falling away from his hair as he began to devour her. His tongue thoroughly explored the slick contours of her sex, the moist heat of it delving into her shivery opening, then returning to the wet folds that surrounded it, again and again.

She groaned low in her throat and went boneless. Was there anything hotter than a man who truly loved the taste and smell of a woman? The way Dev took her so voraciously, he was one of them, and it always, instantly sent her into towering heights of pleasure. Her sheath throbbed in exquisite pain, clenching tight, tighter… "Oh. Oh." She took hold of her knees and pulled her legs back, shamelessly opening herself wider to him. "I'm going to come, Dev. Yes…"

"Ah, good." He reared above her. "That means your nipples are nice and—"

"Devid! My God, what's wrong with you? Quit stopping!"

"You're coming too fast," he said, lapping his tongue over the erect bud of her nipple. "And I'm not done with you, yet."

Her growl of frustration melted into a moan of agonized ecstasy as he began to suckle her, lavishing attention on the pert nipples he so openly adored. His lips tugged on her, his tongue rolling over the crinkled tip, sending heat spearing from her nipple down to her womb. Her spine lifted on its own. A little pulsation rippled along her sheath, and a raw sound pushed passed her lips.

Her husband's cue for more torture, evidently.

Still kissing her nipple, his hand curved into the silky vee of her sex. He pushed a finger inside her, drew out her lubrication, and caressed every swollen petal with it, skimming over her clitoris, then away, teasing it again, then drifting to another part of her.

She panted urgently.

He lifted his head from her nipple and gasped a breath, his pupils huge and fathomless. "I'm nearly insane with how good you smell right now."

The deep muscles inside her tensed and ached. "Then quit being a pain."

"Yeah, all right." He dropped down between her legs again and tongued her clitoris.

She jerked and nearly screamed.

"You're so creamy now, Riss. I love it." He penetrated her with his finger again, and her thighs shook, her breasts heaving rapidly. Pressing his face against her, he licked her with slow, languid strokes, over and over, his soft goatee brushing against her, his finger a steady in-and-out friction inside her body.

Her eyes rolled nearly into the back of her head as her nipples tingled and sharpened. The beginnings of her orgasm coursed through her on an undulating wave and then the muscles in her pelvis clamped hard, her climax crashing through her on an intense eruption of ecstasy. A low noise came out of her as the lingering traces of Fiin?? in her body strengthened the pulsations of her orgasm into something surreal. Shiny lights dotted the sides of her vision and for one amazing moment, it felt like her body soared.

"Oh, yeah," Dev growled, rising above her. His arms hooked the backs of her knees and he toppled her to the carpet, plunging inside her, not too deeply, but the size of him still filled and stretched her with such power and heat another orgasm rolled instantly through her. He made a guttural noise as her sheath clutched him, and she felt his member throb in answer.

"Ah, hell. Good thing you've already come because I…" His voice trailed off on a hard exhale, the movement of his hips already turning jerky. "Shit, shit, shit." He thrust faster, driving just short of the entrance to her womb on every stroke. His lids drooped low and his nostrils flared.

She detonated for a third time, and he stiffened, letting out a ragged shout. His face contorted into an expression of savage pleasure, his shaft spasmed inside her, then with a long, rushing hiss, he sank down on top of her.

Their chests moved together hurriedly as they fought to catch their breaths.

"Oh, God, Dev," she moaned. "That was fantastic." She was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, and her heart wouldn't stop pounding. Pounding, pounding…

Dev lifted his head. "Go away!" he shouted.

She whisked her eyes open. Someone was knocking on their front door…?

"Dev," Gábor called from the other side. "Bro, if I'm interrupting something, I'm sorry, but open up. This is important."

Cursing, Dev pulled out of her and rose, trailing his fingers lightly over her belly as he did; he probably touched their child thirty times a day.

She rolled to her knees and fumbled her dress on over her head. Her underwear was still looped around her ankle.

"Why don't you go upstairs, Riss." Dev hauled on his pants and tugged his scrunched-up shirt down.

Gábor pounded again. "Nichita!"

"You'd better answer it," she said, pushing to her feet and yanking up her panties.

Dev crossed to the door and yanked it open. "Jesus, Pavenic. What gives?"

Gábor stepped just inside their living room. "Hey, Marissa. Sorry," he repeated, then focused on Dev, his usual devil-may-care expression gone. "Toni wants you at the hospital right away."

Instantly sobering, Dev grabbed one of his suede boots from by the couch. "Shit, what's going on?"

"Arc and Thomal just got back and…" Gábor ran a hand over the prickles of his buzz cut. "Something happened to Thomal."

Marissa inhaled with difficulty. "Dear God."

Lips white, Dev snatched up his other boot and shoved his foot into it. "What the hell do you mean something happened? Is he injured?"

"No. Uh, some chick…" Gábor's face reddened and his lips twisted. "Ah, shit, Dev. Some chick really messed him up."

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